The Allahabad High Court came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh Police for detaining an interfaith couple without any legal order, terming their custody “illegal” and directing that they be released immediately. The court also reminded the police that social pressure cannot justify violations of fundamental rights.
The couple, identified as Shane Ali and Rashmi, had been taken into custody on October 15 shortly after leaving the court premises. In compliance with the High Court’s earlier directive, police produced them before a special bench of Justices Salil Kumar Rai and Divesh Chandra Samant on Saturday.
Calling the detention unlawful, the bench said, “Since there was no direction or order for taking the couple into custody, their detention by the police was illegal.” The judges further noted that the woman, being a major, could not have been forcibly confined without authorisation from a competent authority, adding that such actions infringed upon her constitutional rights.
In a rare move, the court convened a special hearing on a holiday and ruled that Rashmi was free to go anywhere she wished with Shane Ali. It also instructed the investigating officer from Akrabad Police Station (Aligarh) to ensure the safe escort of both petitioners to a destination of their choice.
Rejecting the police’s justification that the duo had to be kept apart due to local “tension over their interfaith relationship.” “The plea that the girl had to be kept at a ‘one stop centre’ and the man detained at the police station because of social tension is not acceptable and cannot justify their detention,” the bench stated.
The judges emphasised that every act of detention must strictly conform to the law, underscoring that a detention under social pressure but without the authority of law does not make it legal.
The bench further observed, “In a democratic country governed by the rule of law, the state and its law-enforcement machinery are expected to protect the liberty of every citizen, not surrender to societal pressures.”
Holding the officers accountable, the court stated that those who failed to safeguard the couple’s liberty were “liable to departmental action.” The bench also directed the Police Commissioner of Prayagraj and the SSPs of Aligarh and Bareilly to ensure the couple’s safety and prevent any “extra-legal interference” in their companionship.
The High Court scheduled the next hearing for November 28, ordering the Aligarh SSP to submit an inquiry report before the bench on that date.
The interfaith couple had earlier moved the High Court seeking the quashing of an FIR lodged on September 27 at Akrabad Police Station by the woman’s father.
On Friday, the court was informed that both had been “abducted” by the father and certain police personnel soon after leaving the court premises on October 15, a revelation that prompted swift judicial intervention.
